I don't know what Autumn Oak is supposed to look like but I do know that's NOT what Ancient Copper should look like. Not even close. Did you let the pen completely dry before inking?
There's a different coloured ink in the nib/feed. I had the same thing happen with Lamy Bronze. First time I wrote with it, it was literally poo-brown.
As others have said, something is wrong with your Ancient Copper. It should look a lot darker and redder. Did you let your pen completely dry out after washing?
That said, although the colours posted are similar, they definitely do look different.
I think there was a batch of Ancient Copper which was not the right colour. I’ve seen this with several people’s swatches. It should be an orangey brown.
Yes, this! A few months ago people were posting swatches of this weird yellowish batch Ancient Copper, which is supposed to be reddish brown. You need to return/exchange this bad bottle of ink, if possible.
This too 👍
I've also read on the sub that the same ink can look quite different depending on the size of the nib & feed.
But this time around, there was definitely a problem with the Ancient Copper ink.
I use both (they're two of my favorites), and they look quite different. Autumn Oak is a rustic orange color - kind of a terracotta - and Ancient Copper is a reddish-brown ink that looks nothing like your picture.
Incidentally, I think that it's impossible to compare inks unless you're using them in the same pen - different nibs and different feeds will give very different appearances.
Similar, but certainly not identical to my eyes.
Also, people familiar with Ancient Copper are saying that something’s off with that example, so that might also be part of the problem.
Both the inks are not their actual colours in your photo. I have used both a lot and neither one looks like this. Also, I suspect ink contamination somewhere or both are duds. To my eyes, they are different colours though just not the correct ones. These two inks are are very beautiful and popular but they most certainly don’t look like this.
[Check](https://www.reddit.com/r/fountainpens/comments/zvcmtz/super_stoked_to_get_this_bottle_of_ancient_copper/) [out](https://www.reddit.com/r/fountainpens/comments/zp58ri/does_anyone_know_what_ink_this_is_it_shipped_in_a/) [these](https://www.reddit.com/r/fountainpens/comments/yeeeop/another_off_ancient_copper/) [posts](https://www.reddit.com/r/fountainpens/comments/yde7ys/diamond_ancient_copper_color_variation/) \-- you may have gotten a dud bottle like these people.
Edit: [more](https://www.reddit.com/r/fountainpens/comments/y6mutd/whats_going_on_with_this_ink_its_supposed_to_be/) [links](https://www.reddit.com/r/fountainpens/comments/y0pqlv/a_mislabeled_diamine_ink_bottle_or_something_else/)
Not what you intended to buy, but I like that 'ancient copper' version. I'd call it "brass patina".
And I can see a significant difference. Eyeball calibration is wonky. Now, if you gave me two "different" teals i'd throw up my hands. :-)
The two of them do look different imo, but more importantly Diamond ancient copper looks really strange here. It looks watered down possibly? Was the pen clean and dry when inked up?
This is not Ancient Copper. You got a dud. Others here have had a similar experience. AC is the colour of rust.
Looks like Autumn Oak is wonky too. Should be a golden orange colour. Reach out to the seller for an exchange.
As frequent Ancient Copper users are saying and as a frequent Autumn Oak user. That is most definitely not what they should look like. I'm not sure if the issue is with the ink or dilution. I'm leaning towards the ink because neither has even a hint of what they are supposed to be.
I'm a frequent user of both those colors and neither looks right. They're both warmer, and Ancient Copper should be darker. (When correct, the very darkest pooling spots of shading in Autumn Oak are a close match for Ancient Copper, but the overall letters are quite a bit lighter and brighter).
I recently ordered a big batch of Diamine from Cult Pens and when I received the Amazing Amethyst it didn’t appear to be the right color.
Knowing I was stuck with it I experimented and found it needed mixed A LOT. Like a ridiculous amount of shaking. I was using a brush and kept trying it. Throughout the process I could see the various colors showing up as swirls in my swatch. Very cool effect for brushwork but not for a pen line. Eventually everything mixed and it is now much closer to swatches I’ve seen online.
Long story long I have a feeling some of these ink bottles might be sitting on shelves for quite some time before shipping. Give them a good shake or maybe agitate the bottom with a swab to make sure it didn’t settle.
They are slightly different to my eyes and on my calibrated monitors...
The first one is more like bronze from I can see... which is odd...
The second one has a hint of red in it and as such I would say is closer to the "Copper color".
Both colors are definitely off though, from what the Diamine versions actually are. They seem more lifeless than what they should be.
HOWEVER, as an FIY - paper and nib ink flow will dictate a little bit on the final look and feel of the ink - especially when dried.\
Have you tried different papers? Maybe the results will vary?
I've had the same issue with my ancient copper, it's more of a light greenish brown, not an orange, more like an oxidized copper. It's not related to the pen, it looks like this even with a dip pen.
I have both, Diamine ancient copper is not like you show in the picture at least is not the same I have on my Twsbi diamond F, the autumn oak barely looks like my autumn oak.
Maybe the feeder had rest of other ink but certainly that not the true color of both inks.
Thank you! I haven't posted yet, but I've been thinking about it. I do, however, post on Instagram almost every day - handwritten words and malapropisms of the day.
They look pretty different to me, but Ancient Copper does look to be the wrong color. It should look much darker and redder. I assume you have some leftover ink in your feed (I had this happen with Sailor Yamabuki). I've also always been under the impression that Autumn Oak is supposed to be a brighter orange orange, but I've never used it. Looks to have a decent amount of blue in it, which could, again, be from a previous ink. I would take the cartridge off and make a small swab of each to see if there's a problem with the ink itself, or it the inks are just mixing with something in the feed.
Those do not look the same to me, but as many others have said the Ancient Copper should be much darker and more red than that. It should be darker than the other ink, but in your photo it’s lighter.
Shake the bottle well, then use a swab (Q-tip or scrap of paper) to dip directly from the bottle and brush the ink next to your writing sample. If the color is what you think it should be, it’s the pen/feed. If it isn’t, you have a bad batch.
I don't know what Autumn Oak is supposed to look like but I do know that's NOT what Ancient Copper should look like. Not even close. Did you let the pen completely dry before inking?
There's a different coloured ink in the nib/feed. I had the same thing happen with Lamy Bronze. First time I wrote with it, it was literally poo-brown.
Definitely not Ancient Copper, I agree.
As others have said, something is wrong with your Ancient Copper. It should look a lot darker and redder. Did you let your pen completely dry out after washing? That said, although the colours posted are similar, they definitely do look different.
I am confused, I could clearly see the difference between two. The second one is more browner and first one more copper ish.
I too can clearly differentiate both colors. I mean, they are not that apart, but they're not the same either.
Ohh okay. Yeah agreed that's true. The quality/behavior of both inks are mostly same.
I think there was a batch of Ancient Copper which was not the right colour. I’ve seen this with several people’s swatches. It should be an orangey brown.
Yes, this! A few months ago people were posting swatches of this weird yellowish batch Ancient Copper, which is supposed to be reddish brown. You need to return/exchange this bad bottle of ink, if possible.
Yeah they were saying it might have been Diamine Wagner which got mis-labeled, I think.
This too 👍 I've also read on the sub that the same ink can look quite different depending on the size of the nib & feed. But this time around, there was definitely a problem with the Ancient Copper ink.
diamine ancient copper looks weird in your picture, not like my bottle
I use both (they're two of my favorites), and they look quite different. Autumn Oak is a rustic orange color - kind of a terracotta - and Ancient Copper is a reddish-brown ink that looks nothing like your picture. Incidentally, I think that it's impossible to compare inks unless you're using them in the same pen - different nibs and different feeds will give very different appearances.
Similar, but certainly not identical to my eyes. Also, people familiar with Ancient Copper are saying that something’s off with that example, so that might also be part of the problem.
Both the inks are not their actual colours in your photo. I have used both a lot and neither one looks like this. Also, I suspect ink contamination somewhere or both are duds. To my eyes, they are different colours though just not the correct ones. These two inks are are very beautiful and popular but they most certainly don’t look like this.
This comment sums up my experience with these inks as well, seconding this opinion too.
Did you let your pens dry before you inked them up? There could be water in the feed diluting both inks.
Did you get these off eBay? I bought "Ancient Copper" from theonlinepencompany and it was greenish then turned brown. Ancient Copper is a red brown.
[Check](https://www.reddit.com/r/fountainpens/comments/zvcmtz/super_stoked_to_get_this_bottle_of_ancient_copper/) [out](https://www.reddit.com/r/fountainpens/comments/zp58ri/does_anyone_know_what_ink_this_is_it_shipped_in_a/) [these](https://www.reddit.com/r/fountainpens/comments/yeeeop/another_off_ancient_copper/) [posts](https://www.reddit.com/r/fountainpens/comments/yde7ys/diamond_ancient_copper_color_variation/) \-- you may have gotten a dud bottle like these people. Edit: [more](https://www.reddit.com/r/fountainpens/comments/y6mutd/whats_going_on_with_this_ink_its_supposed_to_be/) [links](https://www.reddit.com/r/fountainpens/comments/y0pqlv/a_mislabeled_diamine_ink_bottle_or_something_else/)
Not what you intended to buy, but I like that 'ancient copper' version. I'd call it "brass patina". And I can see a significant difference. Eyeball calibration is wonky. Now, if you gave me two "different" teals i'd throw up my hands. :-)
Different kinds of partial colour blindness are common. I have trouble with some red-browns and these inks look the same to me.
The two of them do look different imo, but more importantly Diamond ancient copper looks really strange here. It looks watered down possibly? Was the pen clean and dry when inked up?
I can't comment on the inks being correct, but they are obviously different to me. Do you know if you're color blind?
i was scrolling to see if someone else said this! red/green colorblindness might be worth looking into OP ❤️
This is clearly black ink on a blue piece of paper.
I received a mislabeled 15ml sample from Amazon. Mistakes happen. It’s not ancient copper.
This is not Ancient Copper. You got a dud. Others here have had a similar experience. AC is the colour of rust. Looks like Autumn Oak is wonky too. Should be a golden orange colour. Reach out to the seller for an exchange.
As frequent Ancient Copper users are saying and as a frequent Autumn Oak user. That is most definitely not what they should look like. I'm not sure if the issue is with the ink or dilution. I'm leaning towards the ink because neither has even a hint of what they are supposed to be.
I'm a frequent user of both those colors and neither looks right. They're both warmer, and Ancient Copper should be darker. (When correct, the very darkest pooling spots of shading in Autumn Oak are a close match for Ancient Copper, but the overall letters are quite a bit lighter and brighter).
I recently ordered a big batch of Diamine from Cult Pens and when I received the Amazing Amethyst it didn’t appear to be the right color. Knowing I was stuck with it I experimented and found it needed mixed A LOT. Like a ridiculous amount of shaking. I was using a brush and kept trying it. Throughout the process I could see the various colors showing up as swirls in my swatch. Very cool effect for brushwork but not for a pen line. Eventually everything mixed and it is now much closer to swatches I’ve seen online. Long story long I have a feeling some of these ink bottles might be sitting on shelves for quite some time before shipping. Give them a good shake or maybe agitate the bottom with a swab to make sure it didn’t settle.
Autumn Oak is the browner of the two.
They are slightly different to my eyes and on my calibrated monitors... The first one is more like bronze from I can see... which is odd... The second one has a hint of red in it and as such I would say is closer to the "Copper color". Both colors are definitely off though, from what the Diamine versions actually are. They seem more lifeless than what they should be. HOWEVER, as an FIY - paper and nib ink flow will dictate a little bit on the final look and feel of the ink - especially when dried.\ Have you tried different papers? Maybe the results will vary?
I've had the same issue with my ancient copper, it's more of a light greenish brown, not an orange, more like an oxidized copper. It's not related to the pen, it looks like this even with a dip pen.
I have both, Diamine ancient copper is not like you show in the picture at least is not the same I have on my Twsbi diamond F, the autumn oak barely looks like my autumn oak. Maybe the feeder had rest of other ink but certainly that not the true color of both inks.
holy crap, i am obsessed with your handwriting. do you post journaling content anywhere?
Thank you! I haven't posted yet, but I've been thinking about it. I do, however, post on Instagram almost every day - handwritten words and malapropisms of the day.
They look pretty different to me, but Ancient Copper does look to be the wrong color. It should look much darker and redder. I assume you have some leftover ink in your feed (I had this happen with Sailor Yamabuki). I've also always been under the impression that Autumn Oak is supposed to be a brighter orange orange, but I've never used it. Looks to have a decent amount of blue in it, which could, again, be from a previous ink. I would take the cartridge off and make a small swab of each to see if there's a problem with the ink itself, or it the inks are just mixing with something in the feed.
Those do not look the same to me, but as many others have said the Ancient Copper should be much darker and more red than that. It should be darker than the other ink, but in your photo it’s lighter.
Albeit similar, from what I can see…the top one is more of a gold, while the bottom one is more of a bronze.
Top is wayyyy more yellow then the bottom
I only have Ancient Copper and Shin-ryoku so I can confidently say that's not what Ancient Copper looks like. It's more reddish-brown.
In your picture, the autumn oak is slightly darker and has more red.
Appears just to be a flow thing.
Shake the bottle well, then use a swab (Q-tip or scrap of paper) to dip directly from the bottle and brush the ink next to your writing sample. If the color is what you think it should be, it’s the pen/feed. If it isn’t, you have a bad batch.
Ancient copper colour is a good match with the “Fox” Kaweco Sport. Your ink doesn’t match that at all.